Li Qiang, the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee has called on President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

The courtesy call took place at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, China on Thursday, as part of the Maldivian First Couple’s ongoing state visit to China.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed departed to the People’s Republic of China on a state visit on January 7.

The state visit is being conducted upon an official invitation from the President of China, Xi Jinping.

The first couple is accompanied by a high-level delegation of government officials during the visit.

The meeting saw Premier of the State Council of China and President Muizzu shedding light on the basis of the relationship between Maldives and China, which they said were formed by sovereign equality, mutual respect, and shared historical ties.

The Maldivian leader and Qiang engaged in discussions revolving around efforts to increase cooperation in e-commerce and in upcoming projects initiated by the incumbent administration, including the Ras Malé development project, airport expansion, and other development projects.

In addition to this, discussions also revolved around increasing direct flights and further cooperation in tourism.

China’s Premier of the State Council proposed to offer avenues of support to the people of Maldives in multiple fields including scholarship opportunities, vocational training, sports training, fisheries and maritime cooperation, ecological cooperation as well as metrological technologies.

During the meeting, Muizzu expressed hope to strengthen ties in several areas of shared interest.

He also expressed hope to observe the bilateral relations between the Maldives and China, taken to new heights during his administration.

Diplomatic relations were established between the Maldives and China in 1972.

The Maldivian First Couple is undertaking a visit to China at a time relations between India and Maldives have soured once again, over posts on social media platform ‘X’ by deputy ministers close to the president.